MineArchiveMount Osborne Colliery explosion, 1841
About six on the morning of Monday 22 November 1841 fire-damp exploded at Day and Twibell's Mount Osborne Colliery, beside the town of Barnsley, where some fifty-six men and boys had gone down. Fifteen died, many of them hurriers and boys as young as ten, among them three Walton brothers and the foreman, who was suffocated going to the rescue.
| Date | 22 November 1841 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Mount Osborne Colliery |
| Region | South Yorkshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 15 (Fifteen named, aged ten to fifty-five; a later account counts seventeen by adding Edward Walton and the foreman Mitchell, who are among the fifteen. Several others were burned.) |
| Injuries | A number of others were burned, some not expected to recover. |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
Fire-damp fired at a naked light carried into a working road from which a man had been sent away.
What happened
A man working in one of the roads had been ordered out of it by a steward and sent to another part of the mine; he went back for his tools carrying a naked light, and the gas exploded. About fifty-six colliers had gone down that morning. Edward Walton was riding up the shaft in a corve and was killed, though two boys coming down the same shaft escaped. The foreman, Joseph Mitchell, 55, was suffocated in the rescue.
The pit adjoined the town, and wives and children gathered at the pit mouth as the men were drawn up, some unable at first to recognise their own families, so badly had the fire burned their faces. Fifteen died: the brothers Edward, Christopher and William Walton, 13, 22 and 18; Benjamin and Charles Hinchliffe, 11 and 14; John Deakin and his son Charles, 14; James Pease, 22; William Scholey, 24; Robert Walker, 29; John Ardron, 19; Charles Crow, 16; John McCarthy, 24; Charles Thompson, 10; and Joseph Mitchell.
Rescue & recovery
The foreman, Joseph Mitchell, was suffocated going into the workings after the men.
Investigation & inquiry
Thomas Lee, coroner, opened the inquest at the Public Office, Barnsley, on the Tuesday afternoon.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- Four miners and eleven hurriers were killed, with Edward Walton, riding up the shaft in a corve, and the foreman Mitchell, suffocated in the rescue: seventeen in all. (disputed) 3
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On the morning of Monday 22 November 1841 an explosion of fire-damp at Messrs Day and Twibell's Mount Osborne Colliery, Barnsley, killed fifteen. 1,2
- Four miners and eleven hurriers were killed, with Edward Walton, riding up the shaft in a corve, and the foreman Mitchell, suffocated in the rescue: seventeen in all. (disputed) 3
- A man the steward had sent away from a working road went back for his tools with a naked light and fired the gas. 3
- Among the dead were three Walton brothers, two Hinchliffe brothers and their uncle, and John Deakin and his son. 2
- The inquest opened at the Public Office, Barnsley, before the coroner Thomas Lee the next afternoon. 2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “…November 1841 fire-damp exploded at Day and Twibell's Mount Osborne Colliery, beside the town of Barnsley, where some fifty-six men and boys had…” - Naked Light (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “Fire-damp fired at a naked light carried into a working road from which a man had been sent away.” - Putter (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “…fifty-six men and boys had gone down. Fifteen died, many of them hurriers and boys as young as ten, among them three Walton brothers and the…” - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…colliers had gone down that morning. Edward Walton was riding up the shaft in a corve and was killed, though two boys coming down the same…”
Photographs & further reading
This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.
How the explosion happened and how the foreman died in the rescue.
View sourceThe fifteen dead with their ages and occupations.
View sourceA contemporary report of the explosion, the scene at the pit mouth and the inquest.
View sourceSources
- (primary) Colliery Disaster: Mount Osborne, Barnsley, 22 November 1841 — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) Dreadful Explosion At Barnsley, Fifteen Lives Lost (Manchester Courier, 27 November 1841) — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Mount Osborne Colliery Explosion, Barnsley, 1841 — Northern Mine Research Society
Record created: 24 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026